Upgrading from Windows XP to Windows 7 using Laplink's PC Mover
by John C Darrow (JD_Denver)

I recently upgraded my main PC from Windows XP Media Center Edition to Windows 7 Ultimate using PCMover from Laplink ( http://www.laplink.com/pcmover/pcmoverupgradeassistant.html ). This allowed me to perform this upgrade in place, without having to reinstall all my programs and settings.

First, here's what my PC is: an HP Pavilion a1600n, Windows XP SP3 – upgraded to 4GB RAM and a 500 GB HD (with about 400GB in use). I'm also using two external Maxtor HDs (200GB each) for data backup, and I added an external Seagate Desktop Pro (1TB) for the backup process.

My PC is set up with some automated backup processes for my data. I use Siber Systems Goodsync to back up all my data to the 2 external Maxtor HDs. I've set up several jobs for different types of data (e-mail, pictures, audio, video, files, etc.) partitioned as to which data goes where because of disk space considerations. I also run NTI Shadow to back up bookmarks, e-mail account info, software codes (kept in a Word document), etc. to flash drives (2 drives for redundancy)

In preparation for upgrading, I ran Microsoft's Upgrade Advisor ( http://www.windows.com/compatibility ) to verify my PC was ready for Windows 7.

I have 3 programs I run regularly to verify that my programs are up-to-date - Secunia's PSI ( http://secunia.com/vulnerability_scanning/personal/ ) to check for security updates, FileHippo's Update Checker ( http://filehippo.com/updatechecker/ ), and Clean Softs Professional Association's Update Notifier ( http://cleansofts.org/ ). Each one alerts me to a few updates the others might not.

OK, with everything up-to-date and MS's Upgrade Advisor telling me my PC will run Windows 7, I was ready to start. I wanted to make an external backup for safety as something to fall back to, although it turned out that it wasn't needed. I installed PC Mover on my PC. Then I cleaned out any temporary files I could. I use Mozilla Thunderbird for e-mail, so I emptied the trash in it, then compacted all the folders, and finally exited from Thunderbird so my e-mail files wouldn't be changing as new e-mails came in. I went to Start/Run, typed %temp% to open the Windows temporary folder, and marked and deleted everything that would delete there (a few files were in use and wouldn't delete). Then I ran Acronis TrueImage to create a complete image of my system on the external 1TB Seagate drive. To get an idea of the size, I had it split into DVD-sized chunks. It came to 76 DVDs and took about 6 hours for this backup.

Now for the upgrade. I ran PCMover and selected "Old Computer". I tried putting in the License Code, but kept getting a Registration/Activation Failure. "Please verify this PC has Internet connectivity and try again. If you continue to receive this error, please contact Laplink Customer Service (1.425.952.6001). ). I read somewhere that this might be because I have a hardware DSL router doing Network Address Translation to the PCs in my household. I tried 4 times, getting the same error. I also loaded a browser and went to several websites to verify I had connectivity. I then tried calling Customer Support where I learned it was open Monday through Friday, 10 AM to 8 PM, Eastern Time. This was a Friday evening, and after waiting on hold, I was past their closing time (6 PM in my Mountain Time zone.

I then selected the "No Internet Connection" option, which instructed me to use another computer with an Internet connection to get a Validation Code tied to my License Number and use it instead. Well, I had connectivity, so used a browser on the same machine to go through this process and get the Validation Code, which I then input and could proceed.

I selected in-place Upgrade to Windows 7 and selected my C drive. Certain file patterns were checked for exclusion - I also checked ~*.doc, *.tmp, and *.bak, which were not selected by default. I knew that I would not need these, but apparently some applications might require these also be migrated.

I elected for PCMover to show me unregistered apps as well, and had a list of 346 apps. Several were not selected to migrate - for example, System Programs, System Tools, Accessories, and Administrative Tools had no need to migrate - Windows 7 would have its own versions. Adobe Flash Player 10 ActiveX control, avast! Antivirus, MSN Explorer, and Windows Messenger were Not Safe To Migrate.

PCMover uses the analogy of a moving van to load up your computer’s information, storing it locally until it can be unloaded again on the same PC with a new operating system. This started with allowing it to build a "moving journal". This took 7 minutes (it was estimated at 30 minutes). Filling the "moving van" took about a minute, but the estimate was it "could be several hours".

Next step - I inserted my Windows 7 Ultimate DVD and ran setup.exe. I selected Custom Install, selected Disk 0 Partition 1 (my C: Drive), and told it NOT to erase the existing system. ***THIS IS CRITICAL***. It then retrieved 1085K of updates. I accepted the license and put in my code.

I use a pivoting monitor in portrait mode, but had to rotate it back to the default landscape mode through the install so I wouldn't have to turn my head sideways and work in "smilie" mode. :-)

After Windows 7 had installed, I then installed PCMover on the "new" system and ran it. I selected to move my data, as there was not enough room to copy it. PCMover began "unloading the moving van". After 17 minutes, it told me it had about 2 minutes left, but the process took about 35 minutes - still not bad with that much data.
PCMover shuts off most of the startup programs, and presents you with a list of those that automatically ran on the old operating system to select those you want to run at startup.
I tested several of my programs. VLC, Gomez Peer, Winamp, PSI, Update Checker, Avant Browser, Java chart rooms, Roboform, and Kana Reminder all ran fine. I had to tell Firefox where to find its bookmarks, and it also had to find my add-ons and search engines. I had to reinstall the desktop app for Palm Hotsync. Thunderbird had to be repointed to my mail files. I installed Microsoft Security Essentials as the new Antivirus application. Comodo Firewall would not run, even after trying to update it. I had to get an updated version of Virtual CloneDrive, which lets me mount ISO files as virtual drives. Windows 7 had to search for drivers for my printers and for the video drivers to let me return my monitor to portrait mode.

Notably, if you have GiveAway Of The Day (GAOTD, http://www.giveawayoftheday.com ) programs, which must be installed on the day they are offered, those continue working if you use PCMover to upgrade in place from XP to 7.

I learned that Windows 7 started out with power settings set to shut the hard drive down after 20 minutes idle and the system after 30 minutes idle. This caused me to miss recording an Internet radio stream on Sunday while I was at church. So I had to use the Control Panel and adjust Power Options to "Never" to allow it to run constantly.

There were some changes with Windows 7 that I had to take into account. C:/Documents and Settings/All Users/ is now C:/Users/Public/, so I had some paths to change. (Notably, I've had to change paths in Goodsync and in GNUcash.) Desktop shortcuts using these paths also had to be changed, sometimes requiring hunting up the programs and creating new shortcuts.

Here's a little bit of extra information on buying Windows 7: College students can buy one copy of Windows 7 for $30 - http://win741.com/ . A family pack of Windows 7 Home Premium is expected to be offered to cover 3 PCs for $150.

What do I think of PC Mover? This is a great product. It did what I needed and did it easily. It saved many hours compared to what would have been required otherwise. I heartily recommend it!